Trick or Treating

Every year we go to my parents for Halloween. There are so many people that go all out decorating. Since having kids we have always come away with a ton of candy. This year was no different. We were able to get together with Lillian's good friend Sariah Wood and go Trick or Treating together. The girls had a blast. Lillian was practically bouncing off the walls when Sariah showed up. She was so excited to go Trick or Treating AND with Sariah. We made it a family event and all of us went, with Tracy and Mark too. We made it down to the 2 streets, by my parents house that have TONS of houses all decked out. It's practically like a block party because so many people decorate and pass out candy. So naturally the streets were packed with people. Lillian enjoyed all the Halloween decorations whether they were scary looking ones that moved or not. She thought they were all so cool and would go up and look at them. One time there was this creepy looking monster thing that was moving around. She goes up to it and takes its hands and starts dancing with it, (apparently she thought it was dancing). The lady was so surprised because most little girls would be afraid of stuff like that. Sariah on the other hand was terrified of everything that was creepy or scary looking. She wouldn't go up the driveway to get the candy if they had scary stuff out, even with Daddy. I guess since I have always loved Halloween and never been scared of any of that stuff, even Haunted Houses don't bother me. To my knowledge I have never even screamed in one. I have jumped backed but never screamed, not really a screamer. But more to the point they weren't scary because I have always know that it was fake.
My brother and I have, for years, decorated my parents house. We both love Halloween and enjoy decorating. My brother has so creepy things that we have used and so I know Lillian has seen them (and played with them). LOL So I am glad that Lillian has taken after me and truly enjoys Halloween.
I didn't get any pictures of the girls actually going door to door. Not sure why, guess I just forgot. This year was the first time that we actually got her to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you". In the past she has been to shy to say anything. So grateful she is finally getting the hang of that part. Anyway, Preston hung out in the stroller with his monkey costume on and simply enjoyed being with the family and going for a "walk". I am sure he enjoyed seeing all the kids dressed up too. I hope that I can instill in him the same love for Halloween that I have with Lillian. He didn't like the monkey head on, so it didn't last too long before he figured out how to take it off. Oh well, at least I got some pictures with it on.

Lillian and Sariah outside my parents house.
Just before we going Trick or Treating!!
My little monkey (in training, he's learning from his sister)!!!
I made this costume for Lillian 2 years ago for her first trick or treating. She was able to wear it last year too and this year we past it on to Preston.
So stinking cute!! I love my little baby monkey
"Okay mom, I am totally done with this monkey head thing. I don't like it!!"
The decorations with the flash on and, below, with out. We decided to do a pumpkin patch instead of our usual spooky theme. It turned out cute and we got a lot of kids too!!

Halloween

Finally got some time to blog this morning!! Yeah!!!

Halloween this year was lots of fun. Lillian wanted to be Tinker Bell so I knuckled down and made her the costume. It turned out beautifully, except the wings are a little floppy. But oh well. We went to my parents ward the day before Halloween for their ward party. The food was yummy, but of course the best part is the Trunk or Treating. While the parents were mingling and eating they had some fun activities for the kids. Lillian played Bean Bag toss and got a yummy orange cupcake. Then she wanted to go fishing and got a little game. We then paraded around the cultural hall so everyone could see the costumes and pick the winners. Lillian just enjoyed going around and around. While standing in the line waiting for the adults she happened to be standing she discovered another Tinker Bell!! Her costume was a lot more sparkly and it looked homemade too. The little girl was a little older than Lillian but she didn't care she kept giving her hugs. So cute!! As for Preston well he just enjoyed being included. He loved the soup that we gave him. I was going to put his monkey costume on but there were so many people there that the cultural hall was quite warm plus it wasn't exactly that cold outside either. So I just left him as is.
Lillian had SO much fun Trick or Treating. She was SO excited and absolutely loved every minute of it. She got a TON of candy too because there were lots of cars to go to and most people didn't just give out 1 or 2 candies. Usually it was like 3 or 4 and sometimes people gave her a little handful. So crazy!!! As you can see from the pictures below she had no qualms about asking people for her "Treat".

Mr. P with Grandpa Mickelsen. He loves smiling for the camera now, hope that lasts!!
Waiting in line for the Bean Bag toss game.
Her prize, a yummy orange cupcake!!

Standing in line waiting for the winners, with the other Tinker Bell.
My favorite picture of her. Such a cute smile. She loves her Tinker Bell costume, especially the wings. In fact she is constantly wanting to put it on. LOL
Trunk or Treating
Eating popcorn. They had a guy there with a real popcorn machine, like the ones you find at fairs. Lillian loves popcorn, so it was perfect even if the popcorn was a little too salty.
Digging for candy!!
"Trick or Treat"
The kid has a fetish for animals. So if she sees one, even if it's not real, she has to touch it/pet it.
Waiting in line to get candy.
Do ya see the bucket full of candy?!?!?!? Looks like we have candy for the next year!!! AHHHH
Being my silly little talkative girl.
Smiling, finally, for the camera!!
Totally excited at all the candy she has and how much fun she was having. After Halloween she was asking me everyday if we were going to go Trick or Treating again. Do ya think she likes it??? Good thing it only happens once a year!!!
My little Mr. P hanging out in his car seat. He was just too cute not to take a picture.
Oh I just love this little guy!!!!
Look at those teeth. AHHHH. At this picture he was working on getting his 8th tooth. It had already cut through, but wasn't all the way up.

Kristy turns 30!!

So a month ago I turned the big 30!!! Wow!!! I can't believe it!!! My family typically gets together for everyone's birthday and either goes out to eat or we make something special and then of course there is cake and ice cream. On my actual birthday Brandon took me and the kiddos to California Pizza Kitchen. I love their food!! It's so yummy!! After, we went over to Macy's because I needed a new purse, (mine had just died when I got home). I love my purse!! I think it is the first one that actually works the best for me. I am usually a small purse kind of gal, if they are too big they get used as a storage container for everyone's stuff. However, this time I wanted to try a little bigger one, plus it is really cute!! What I love about it, is that there aren't any section dividers or big pockets to take up space inside. You open it up and there is one place to put everything inside. There are two small pockets on the inside, one I use for my phone and the other for misc. stuff. There is a place for my makeup too and then on the outside I have a place for my keys. That is another plus!! I have never had a good place to put my keys, subsequently I would be rummaging for them at the bottom of my purse. So annoying!!! Anyway, it is a great purse (and temporary diaper bag for short trips) and I hope it lasts me for a while.
My parents, the next night, took me out the next night. This time I decided on Mimi's!!! Yummy!!! I love this time of year, everyone does their pumpkin flavored treats!!! Mimi's had this pumpkin bread that tasted soooo good. Mmmmm!!! Thanks Mom and Dad!! Dinner was great!!
Monday night my brother and his wife came over to my parents house for cake and ice cream. I wanted something different and a little healthier so we did a pudding cake (cake then pudding for the frosting). My mom and Scott decorated it like a graveyard. (Halloween is THE best holiday, but then maybe I am a little partial) LOL
Since I was 30 I thought I should celebrate a little more. So on the 17th we got together with some great friends and my friends Katrina and Matt Fritter's house to play games and have some yummy snacks. I had a great time!! It was so nice to get out and play some grown up games and not have to worry about the kids coming and messing it up!! Thanks Tandy, Kristen, Josh, Katrina and Matt and, (of course), my hubby, Brandon for coming !! You made my birthday very special!! Sorry I don't have the pictures, they were taken on someone else's camera.
Lillian and I waiting for our food. Sorry it's blurry but my camera was still getting fixed so it was taken with the blackberry camera and well you can't move when taking a picture. As you can see Lillian moved her arm. My little monkey is getting so big and she is so pretty and I swear sometimes she looks just like me!!

Daddy and Preston and yup he moved too. Oh well still cute!! My little baby is sooo stinkin cute!! I just love him. I love his smile and to see him laugh!!
Mom decorating my birthday cake.....Mmmmm looking yummy. Lillian in the foreground trying to help herself to the goodies on the cake.
The finished product!!
A closer shot of the cake!! It reads, Happy Birthday Kristy, if you had a hard time reading it. Mom isn't as good at the writing as I am. But who cares, it looked and tasted great!! Thanks Mom!! The cookies and Ande's Mints are the gravestones and there was crumbled oreo's for the "dirt". There were ghosts and pumpkins too!!

Preston!!

Just a quick post on my little boy!! He is getting to be so big. I can hardly believe he is 9 months.
We went to his 9 month check up (awhile ago) and he is doing great.
My little guy is so squirmy and well it got up with him. On Weds. Sept. 23rd he rolled off the counter in the bathroom (he had just gotten a diaper change) at my parents house. My mom had reached over to grab Lillian forgetting that Preston is so squirmy and just barely missed him. My mom called me at work to tell me what had happened and that he wasn't acting normal. Thankfully Brandon was almost off work so he was able to check on him and make sure it wasn't serious. When I stopped to pick up the kids a couple hours later, I felt there was something definitely wrong with his one leg since he would scream every time I tried to touch or move it. So after a very fun and exciting ER visit complete with x-rays it was determined that he had a buckle fracture in his left femur. They put a soft cast on it there and I scheduled an appt. with an ortho to put the hard cast on Friday morning. We are grateful the break wasn't in his growth plate and that it wasn't displaced. Mommy decided on a blue cast. He only had to wear the cast for 2 weeks. Thank goodness babies grow fast!!
Thankfully he had gotten his cast off the day before so I have an accurate weight. Although he had lost 7 ounces from the time 2 weeks before in ER. But the doctor said that was normal because he had been dragging that thing around where ever he crawled.
Anyway, he weighed 19lbs 14 ounces and was 28 1/2 inches long. Still in the 50%!!!
Don't remember what his head measurements were and they didn't write them on my sheet. But that was in the 50% too.
Preston loves food. I can feed him anything and he will eat it. It is so nice not having a picky eater (one's enough). He loves to crawl around and pull himself up on anything he can reach. He absolutely loves his sister and drives her nuts too. But that's what little brothers do (at least that's what I remember mine doing) LOL!! Lillian loves him too, though but we're still working on the whole sharing thing. Some days are better than others. Preston (or Mr. P) has we call him is going to be my little mischievous child. He puts everything and anything he can find in his mouth. The word NO I think means smile and look as cute as possible so mom will change her mind and then just keep right on doing it. We have found, so far, a red crayon, paper, tissues, the cat's water bowl and their scratch toy, plastic bags, any kind of cord, Lillian's books, and the diaper champ. There are days I feel like I don't have enough places to put all the things he can't play with. But we love him anyway. He is such a happy baby and brings so much joy to our family. He loves to be in our arms and snuggles a little with mommy!
Standing up in his crib!! This is after we lowered the crib all the way!! At least he can't fall out!! LOL
My little guys pretending to use the binkie. He would rather play with it then use it for what it is suppose to be for (and yes I know it's pink it is one of the ones we bought for Lillian but never used.)Waiting to get his cast off!!
Cutting through!!
We all signed his cast, Lillian had a little help from mommy. I wrote "Mommy is the best."

I think it is so crazy that this machine just stops when it touches the skin. Amazing!!!
All done!! "Yeah, I got my leg back, mommy!!!" He started moving it around as soon as the cast came off!! He was so happy!!!

Birthday Party

Lillian had her first birthday party this year. Lillian invited her friends Clarissa Taylor and Sariah Wood to come to the zoo on Saturday Sept. 19th. We walked around an saw all the animals then headed to the playground and had PB & J sandwiches and juice drinks. Cupcake ice cream cones were our dessert. Afterwords the girls played on the playground. The girls had so much fun, running around the zoo looking at the animals and being silly little girls.
Rissa got Lillian a little girl with a carriage and pony. Sariah got her a fishing puzzle game and a beach Ken doll (we needed a "daddy" doll). She loves them both and enjoys playing with them. Thanks Tandy for taking the pictures!!
Rissa smiling for the camera.
Lillian and Rissa watching some birds.
Running around being silly girls!!
The girls love the alpaca's. They spent what seemed like forever there watching them. One was so close we were afraid it might spit at the girls! LOL
"Turtle's Mommy!!!!" Another place we were at for quite a long time. Lillian and Rissa loved watching the turtles swim.

Sariah Wood, Rissa Taylor and Lillian checking out the turtles.

One of the really pretty birds over in the bird aviary.

One of the many attempts to get a picture of all 3 girls. This was one of the best ones!!
Watching the Bald Eagle!!
Lunch time!! Tinker Bell plates and Princess napkins and gift bags. Lillian picked them out. So much for trying to match. LOL
Sariah enjoying her drink.
Mmmmm yummy PB & J sandwiches!!
Smile Sariah!!
Lillian enjoying her sandwich!! Can you tell she really likes it, cause its all over her face.
Play time!!
Awww so cute!!
Cupcakes?! Yeah!!!!
The party crew!!
Yummy, ice cream cone chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting and M & M's inside!! They were lip smacking good!!!